Salmon Patties with Flax {Gluten-Free}

A perfect quick and healthy recipe for salmon patties made with flax seed meal to increase the Omega-3s and replace bread crumbs to be gluten free.

I love, love, love salmon. That and shrimp are the two things I mostly order when we eat out, if they’re available. Steak-schmake, I’ll always take a salmon filet or a shrimp skewer over it any day. In fact, I’ve never been to most of the steak houses in our town, but I know almost all of the seafood places. I simply find it much more flavorful than a slab of beef.

The only problem with salmon is (and you probably knew this was coming…) the price. Yikes. I don’t do farmed salmon with added dyes (yuck), so that leaves wild caught Alaskan salmon (did you know there’s no such thing as “Atlantic Salmon?” There used to be, but it was fished out many years ago, so if you see that label, it means farmed fish). Oh my goodness, can that set our food budget back.

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So fresh salmon is a rare treat which is usually seasonal since that’s when the prices are in the realm of our possibility. But what’s a girl to do who loves salmon? Plus, it’s such a great source of omega-3s, which we need in our diet to balance all the omega-6s we typically get (read more about that here), so we really should be eating it more than a few times a year.

The answer, of course, is canned salmon. But I’ve found there are all kinds of canned salmon and just having the label of “wild caught” isn’t always enough. The cheaper, larger cans seem to taste more like tuna than salmon, so I usually buy smaller 6-oz. cans that cost a bit more, but have more chunks and actually taste like salmon. I like the salmon from Trader Joe’s and Costco, mainly.

I had no idea how hard that would be. I decided right away I didn’t like mayo-based patties (I felt the mayo contributed to the lack of salmon flavor and mushy texture), so that eliminated many recipes out there and I’ve spent the last year perfecting a recipe I created using the simplest of bases:

salmon + egg + a few seasonings + small amount of binder

For most of that time I used our frozen, homemade breadcrumbs for the binder, but I was never really happy with it. And then I read in a magazine about combining salmon and flax seed meal to increase our Omega-3s and a lightbulb went off: why not use that instead of breadcrumbs in my recipe as the binder, increasing the health value of the patties as a result?

Happily, the results were fabulous!

My search and tweaking of this salmon patty recipe is over – I think they’re close to perfection: great taste, great texture, great form, simple & healthy ingredients. And the other, unintended result of the switch? They’re now gluten-free, which is nice for those who need to avoid it.

Instructions

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and then add patties, sautéing until browned, about 4 minutes. Flip patties and cook another 4 minutes or until evenly cooked and browned on each side.

Serving suggestions: I like to pair these in the summer with a green salad with chickpeas and onions, drizzled with a Homemade Honey Mustard Dressing (pictured in the photo below). They also make great salmon burgers served with a whole wheat bun, lettuce and tomato. The patties will be more of a ‘slider’ size, though, so when making regular burger-sized patties, I’d double the recipe so that the 4 patties would fit a normal sized bun.

Did you make this recipe?

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About Jami

Jami Boys is an author, blogger, and imperfect do-it-yourselfer who lives in the green, lovely, and often rainy Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children. Her passion is to help others enjoy life & embrace simplicity through whole-food recipes, easy DIY projects, and do-able gardening.

Excited to try these!!! We have been attempting to clear as much flour/bread as possible from our diets. I wanted to make salmon cakes tonight, and my original recipe is very much like your original. Flax popped in my head as a possible binder, so of course, I jumped on Pinterest to see if anyone had tried it yet….And here it is!! I’m making tonight! 🙂

This is great! I’m looking for a simple way to get loads more omega 3’s into my son who’s having rampant skin inflammation. The double whammy of the salmon and flax is perfect. I’m wondering, though, how necessary the egg is with all that flax. Eggs are definitely on the menu here, but there are those days when the frig is bare and you still gotta eat.

This recipe is amazing!!! A simple and delicious salmon patty. They browned beautifully and I plan on making these always!!! I’ve only used ground flaxseed in baking and smoothies, this is genius!!! Do you think they will freeze well? I’m having surgery soon and trying to prepare as many healthy freezable foods as I can. Thank you 🙂

Thanks, Jo-Lynne! It’s just a green salad with garbanzo beans for added protein. 🙂 I dressed it all in my favorite homemade Honey Mustard Dressing – salmon patties and all, though it wasn’t super pretty for the pictures, so it’s way down at the bottom of the post, ha!

Thanks Jami for what looks like a terrific and economical way to get our Salmon-fix! Like you, we order wild caught NW Salmon whenever when we are near the coast and can afford the splurge but wish we could eat it more often at home. Are there particular labels for the Costco/TJ’s canned Salmon that you prefer? PW

I can’t wait to try this. I grew up on them but my mom used flour as the binder. I’ve been told to avoid gluten due to suspected auto-immune issue and am happy to see that I won’t have to give these up!!

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Hi, I'm Jami and I'm so glad you're here! My goal is to help you live a simple homemade life on your terms: cooking delicious real food, painless gardening, and making easy things that are totally worth your time. Read More…

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